Former MTA Chair & CEO Joseph Lhota leads a possible New York City Republican primary
for mayor, with 23 percent of the vote, more than the other largely unknown contenders
combined, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. The biggest share,
however, goes to undecided, with 53 percent.

Lhota is followed by businessman John Catsimatidis with 9 percent, newspaper publisher
Tom Allon with 5 percent, former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion with 3 percent and
Doe Fund founder George McDonald with 2 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-
ack) University poll finds.

With 35 percent, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has a big lead in a Democratic
primary for mayor. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has 11 percent, with 10 percent for former
City Comptroller William Thompson and 9 percent for Comptroller John Liu.

New York City voters disapprove 46 - 36 percent of the job Lhota did at the MTA and 69
percent of all voters don't know enough about him to decide whether they have a favorable or
unfavorable opinion. The range of voters who "don't know enough" about the other Republicans
is from 83 percent to 92 percent.

"Who are those guys? Almost no one knows the Republicans who say they want to be
mayor. Even Joe Lhota, the front-runner in a primary match-up and the former head of the
MTA, is far from a house-hold name," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac
University Polling Institute.

"Council Speaker Christine Quinn still dominates the Democratic field. There is almost
no gender gap for any candidate. For example, Quinn gets 36 percent of women and 34 percent
of men, while Liu gets 10 percent of men and 9 percent of women."

By 3-1 margins or more, New York City voters back any of the three leading Democrats
over Lhota:

Quinn leads 62 - 17 percent;

Thompson is up 55 - 19 percent;

de Blasio is on top 57 - 17 percent.

In a May 2, 2001, Quinnipiac University poll, then-Republican Michael B1oomberg
trailed Democratic contenders by margins of 52 - 24 percent or more.

"The top three Democrats all thump Lhota. We limit the matchups to candidates who
show some strength in their primaries," Carroll said. "New York City is a very blue city. Any
Republican who wants to follow in the footsteps of Mayors Rudolph Giuliani or Michael
Bloomberg will need to win lots of Democratic and independent voters."

If Giuliani supports a candidate, New York City voters say 42 - 37 percent that would
have a positive effect when they decide to vote. Mayor Bloomberg should not use his personal
wealth to support a candidate for New York City mayor, voters say 51 - 38 percent.

"Giuliani is in with both feet for Lhota. Will that help? A mixed result," Carroll said.

From January 8 - 14, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,332 New York City voters with a
margin of error of +/- 2.7 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.
The survey includes 176 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 7.4 percentage points and 879
Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia
and the nation as a public service and for research.

For more information or RSS feed, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201,
or follow us on Twitter.

1. (If Registered Democrat) If the Democratic primary for Mayor were being held today, and the candidates were: John Liu, Christine Quinn, William Thompson, and Bill de Blasio, for whom would you vote?

TREND: (If Registered Democrat) If the Democratic primary for Mayor were being held today, and the candidates were: John Liu, Christine Quinn, William Thompson, and Bill de Blasio, for whom would you vote?

2. (If Registered Republican) If the Republican primary for Mayor were being held today, and the candidates were: Joseph Lhota, John Catsimatidis, Adolfo Carrion, George McDonald, and Tom Allon, for whom would you vote?